Girl Scouts Index Photographs
Posted on Feb 2, 2007 in categories Press Releases, Research Center
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“Oh, look at that—they had horses and buggies,” exclaimed one young woman in a green vest looking at a photo of horse pulling a sled with three people in it. “Look at this,” another wearing a green sash, called back. “They used to dress in costumes on the 4th of July,” eyeing a black and white photo of Arthur and Evelyn Wienecke dressed as a clown and princess in a July 1920s photo.
It sounded like cacophony but work was being done to more finely index and organize the Glencoe Historical Society’s extensive photographic collection. Nine Girl Scouts from Glencoe’s 4th-5th grade Troop 274 went to work last week (Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2007) to sort pictures into specific categories and provide tables of contents for the binders.
The girls were volunteering their time to collect services hours—and to familiarize themselves with the society so they can plan larger futures projects to earn badges and awards. The work was completed at the Eklund History Center, 377 Park Ave.
The binders of photographs, available to general public, are grouped in large categories: park district, celebrations, transportation, but they have not yet been finely indexed by the society. The girls worked for two hours to complete three binders. They discovered that in Celebrations, there was more than 4th of July or Memorial Day. Villagewide celebrations for Frontier Days in September 1955, the Olympic Torch travels in February 2002 and the September Constitutional Bicentennial also are pictured.
The girls are planning to return to the society for three more sessions. They will aid in doing the final packing away of clothing from the Helen Sharpe collection, 500 dresses and accessories donated to the society in March 2006 and used for a series of collections. Each dress before it is put away has to be photographed, numbered and then folded and stuffed and wrapped with acid-free tissues.
That project is certain to draw lots of “look at this!” comments as well, as 21st century girls learn a good bit about fashion in the 1950s through the 1980s while they work.